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Chapter 1:
So she looked up at the new bride in the mirror and simply smiled at her. And then she dragged herself out of the body and headed straight for the bathroom. She was ready and out of the bathroom in no time, wearing a simply blue salwaar suit, her hands covered in blue bangles and her hair still wet and wrapped by a towel.
The holidays were over, and it was a beginning of a new year and a new semester. Riddhima Gupta had managed to beat the others, to achieve the top most rank and successfully clearing the 2nd year exams.. and here she was.. a new year, a new beginning. But it wasn't only Riddhima who needed to get ready for his first day of the semester, so she she leaned over and knock feebly on the door of the bedroom which belonged to a guy about whom she knew nothing, who had nothing in common with her, who did not love her, her husband, Armaan Malik. After knocking once or twice, she realized that the door was open, so she opened the door and walked inside find something she did not expect.
The room was far away from the definition of "neat", in fact, it seemed to be the exact opposite. Pictures of Armaan Malik hung on the wall and a huge and heavy amplifier was kept on the floor, with a red electric guitar hung on the wall near it. She found a basketball lying on the floor, while the basket was hung on the door behind her. She also found a old ratted football lying near the bed. Amidst all the mess, she found herself staring at the cute figure who was in his deepest of slumbers and fell in love with him all over again. He had small smile playing on his face, as if having the sweetest of dreams, while his arms were wrapped around a acoustic guitar. His ruffled hair, smile and the cutest pair of dimples made Riddhima's heart warm up and she decided not to wake him up after she was done preparing for breakfast.
The breakfast menu, she decided, was better kept simple but stomach-filling. So she decided to go for something that would brighten Armaan's day- a plate of hot and yummy aloo paranthas with some mango pickles. Maybe these parantha's would make her less of a burden than what Armaan thought of her as, she thought. After a while, she turned the last piece parantha on the stove for one last time and then placed it in the white plate on the counter. She glanced at the coffee maker and smiled when the it poured the hot brewing coffee into the cup. So, the breakfast was finally ready, and Riddhima could finally go and wake Armaan up (the moment she had been waiting for!). So she quickly cleaned up the kitchen, washed the utensils and turned to leave to kitchen to find a pair of blue eyes watching her intently. In his presence, her body tensed immediately. After taking a moment in mustering courage to speak up, she put up a smile on her face and decided to break the ice.
"Good morning!" she wished him, but in return all she got was a cold stare.
"Our college starts from 11. So I have the breakfast ready and you can go get ready and then we ca-"
"Riddhima we need to talk." His low and husky voice interrupted her. She nodded softly and looked at him, knowing that he was struggling to say something.
"Whatever happened is not your fault, and neither it is mine." he struggled a bit more.
"so let me make this easier for you. This is a mistake and we both were forced into it. So why believe in something that doesn't exist?" He looked at her, trying to study her expression.
"so you are free to do whatever you want, and I expect the same kind of space from you." He finished and looked at her, waiting for her answer.
Riddhima stared at him for a brief moment and then nodded.
"I understand. After all, our marriage is just a 'mistake'", she uttered bitterly and looked away, trying to push back the tears.
"breakfast?" she muttered in her lowest of tone. Armaan looked at the plate of hot paranthas and then looked back at her unsure.
"Um, I am sorry. I usually have cereal for breakfast."
"Oh." Riddhima stared at him awkwardly, and then looked away. Riddhima really, really tried to make things easier for Armaan, but she could see that she didn't even care, which hurt her the most.
"I am sorry I should have asked you first. I am-" She choked, sobbing softly, as she spoke.
"Its alright, Riddhima. You can relax." Armaan grabbed the box of cereals, milk and a bowl and marched out of the kitchen into the living room.
As soon as he left the room, she fell back on the counter, taking back soft sobs. She knew that Armaan had sacrificed a lot too. Where Riddhima did not want to burden her old father, Armaan had agreed to marry Riddhima as a promise made to his dying mother who had died of cancer last month.
And then she let her body sink, wrapping her arms around her body and cried.
What she thought of as her "own house" wasn't hers after all. Neither did she have a home nor love. She tried to understand why this was happening with her, but failed. She had never done anything wrong, nor did she ever harm anybody intentionally. So why? why was god doing all this to her? Not even once did she greed for power or money; all she ever wished for was a little love.. and she had faith in god, that one day she will have her own love story.. so why couldn't she have her happy ending? A little did she know that god had just answered all her questions.
Vanshaj
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
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